Some Psychological Aspects of Living Lightly: Desired Lifestyle Patterns and Conservation Behavior
- 1 January 1990
- journal article
- Published by Portico in Journal of Environmental Systems
- Vol. 20 (3) , 215-227
- https://doi.org/10.2190/030q-q4ke-7yfb-4q0f
Abstract
It has been argued that an environmentally compatible lifestyle is a necessary if somewhat onerous component of a sustainable society. This perception might lead one to demand compensation for adopting such a lifestyle. An alternative perspective suggests such a lifestyle contains its own compensation. This study explores whether a conservation-oriented lifestyle may be intrinsically satisfying. Data from respondents to a mail-back questionnaire were explored using factor analysis and analysis of variance. Several categories of items emerged, focusing on ecology, technology, self-reliance and acceptance-of-wastefulness. The respondents most preferred an ecologically focused lifestyle. This article also explores the relationships between these desired patterns and reported conservation behavior and intrinsic satisfactions.Keywords
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